Be Grateful

Spending time this weekend with my family was very much needed after last week. There I sat, taking it all in: the sounds of my little ones laughing and playing; the constant discourse coming from my son; and, yes, the weekend serenade of Mario Kart. I was so grateful. Although this has been an extremely difficult transition for me, I am so grateful for the time I have had with my son. Not many mothers are blessed with the ability to stay at home with their children, and I have had close to 6 years with him. I can’t imagine those parents who don’t have a choice. After the six week hiatus from work, they must place their child in the care of someone else. How hard that must be. Instead, I have been able to see and be a part of all the ‘firsts’. I have seen the excitement, the frustrations, and joy. Heard the stories that only little ones can create, and I have been there to give the hugs and kisses to make it all better.

Because of all those things, I wonder if that has made it harder to send him off to school. That part of my life, with him always by my side, is over and there is no going back. He is in school. He is now subjected to things beyond my control. No longer will I be the first person he will turn to -- I’m not there. He will hear and learn things that will challenge what he has been taught. Now is when we pray that what we have instilled in him until this point holds strong -- and that he remembers.

In looking back over the past 5 years, there have been times, where as a parent, I got frustrated. Whether it was his ‘marker fiasco’ (his walls and lovey will never be the same), his stubbornness at naptime, or when it had just been a hard day for everyone, we had our moments. Even those, as difficult as they were, are still pretty appealing to me. If nothing else, this period of change has made me be even more thankful for each day. Each opportunity we have to be together. Regardless of what we’ll be doing, we’ll be together -- and that’s what’s important.